A motor vehicle is a noisy environment for radio reception. Impulse type noise, for example, is a particularly troublesome source of interference to motor vehicle radio reception. There are multiple sources of impulse type noise in a motor vehicle. Some of the noise sources, such as brake switches and turn signals, produce impulse noise pulses that individually are characterized by a relatively low repetition rate and a relatively long pulse width. In contrast, other sources such as the ignition system produce impulse noise pulses that are of relatively short pulse width. Ignition system noise is characterized by a variable repetition rate, with the rate changing with the engine speed.
A conventional motor vehicle radio attempts to eliminate the effect of impulse type noise by blanking such noise signals. If the radio attempts to blank all noise signals, however, the effect of such blanking may be discerned by the listener as a distorted audio signal. If, however, sufficient blanking is not applied, the audio quality is again impaired because the normal audio is punctuated by pops or cracks caused by the noise signals. In an attempt to provide sufficient blanking but not to over-blank, the typical motor vehicle radio sets a fixed maximum blanking time and a fixed repetition rate. Such typical settings, however, are sub-optimized for dealing with the different noise sources. The result is sub-optimized audio reception on motor vehicle radios.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method for reducing the effect of impulse noise in a motor vehicle radio to optimize the audio quality of motor vehicle radio reception. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.